Covington council tables financial matters

The Covington City Council once again tabled all financial matters concerning tax millages until final figures are released by St. Tammany Parish Tax Assessor Patricia Schwarz Core.

Whether millages will eventually be rolled back or forward will depend on the funding generated by the new assessments. Councilman Lee Alexius said the present 24.27 mills the city receives in property tax is dedicated and could easily be rolled back.

The 10 mills dedicated to the fire department is not enough to fund the department, and careful consideration would be given to whether to keep the assessed values on this 10 mills.

Other millages are dedicated to sewer and servicing bond debt, while 8.16 mills goes into the general fund, he said.

Covington Mayor Candace Watkins said the resulting additional money for the city would be carefully considered.

“We are very sensitive to the fears of the public and do not want to inflict pain on our constituents,” she said. Watkins added the property tax only comprises 12 percent of the city’s budget.

City administrator Beverly Gariepy said in some cases, the city could lose the ability to tax if it doesn’t roll forward, resulting in collecting less money on the same millage.

Adoption of the 2009 budget was also tabled until the council can complete necessary work sessions. As part of the budget process, the council reviews the budget line by line in work sessions before presenting it in a public hearing.

The mayor’s salary has also been tabled until it can be reviewed as part of he budget work sessions. The proposed salary for next year is $68,650, which reflects a 4 percent raise over 2008.

In other matters, the council unanimously approved an ordinance revising the off-street automobile parking and loading regulations in the zoning ordinance determining minimum parking requirements. Tandem parking, in which cars are parked behind each other, is prohibited. According to the ordinance, any parking space which must be passed through to get to another cannot be utilized to provide required parking.

An ordinance was also passed annexing about 10.5 acres in the growth management area on Louisiana Highway 25 and Airport Road north of Covington.

Administrative liaison Alexius reported there are problems with sewer pumps and control panels that will need to be replaced, causing unexpected expenditures in the remaining 2008 budget. There are also sewer problems reported at St. Scholastica Academy.

Due to cost factors, a pre-existing building is being considered for the recreation department gym instead of a building from the ground up that would involve additional fees, he said.